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Trial date set for Sandown man charged with burglarizing Rockingham County homes

By JAMES A. KIMBLEUnion Leader Correspondent

BRENTWOOD – A trial date has been set for a Sandown man who recently turned himself in on charges that he burglarized seven homes in Derry, Londonderry and Hampstead.

Joshua Fowler, 34, is expected to go on trial the week of Oct. 7 in Rockingham County Superior Court on seven counts of burglary for break-ins between October 2009 and March 2010.

A grand jury indicted Fowler in September 2011, but he did not appear in court until earlier this year after becoming listed as a "Fugitive of the Week" by the U.S. Marshal's Service.

Fowler turned himself in at the Rockingham County Sheriff's Office in Brentwood once the Marshal's Service announced they wanted to apprehend him.

Court documents say that Fowler may not have acted alone in the burglaries, but so far he is the only one charged in the case.

He was charged as being either a principal or accomplice in the seven cases.

The defense has yet to file any challenges to evidence in the case, but court papers indicate they passed a deadline on requesting to sever the cases into separate trials.

A five-day trial has been scheduled for the case. Prosecutors have until Sept. 27 to strike a possible plea deal instead of going to trial.

Prosecutors say Fowler broke into his first home in Hampstead sometime during October 2009 then carried out the other six burglaries between February and March 2010.

In the first two burglaries, prosecutors have not given the exact dates of the break-ins, according to indictments.

Fowler is facing Class B felonies for each of the burglaries. If convicted he faces a potential 3 ½-to-7 year prison term and a $4,000 fine on each charge. He remains free on $20,000 cash or corporate surety bail.